The biggest problem with Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and there are many, is that the filmmaker shows that his reputation for being a visual genius over a verbal storyteller is perfectly justified. In fact, so much of his follow-up to Man of Steel is so simultaneously convoluted and bloated that it is hard to know where to begin with suggestions on how it could improve. Sadly, this DC Expanded Universe may be beyond repair if Warner Bros. does not move on without the man they’ve anointed as their comic book savior.
When it was announced that Ben Affleck was cast to be Bruce Wayne/Batman, there was an uproar. What a nice surprise it is that the multiple Oscar winner is actually one of two pillars of strength in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Sure, it’s a pretty one-note performance, but it works for the material he is given. The other highlight is Gal Gadot, another whose casting was met with more “umms” than “awesome.” What does that say? More on that in a moment…
If you think Snyder was going to apologize or shy away from the criticisms that were lobbed at him after Man of Steel, think again. Instead, he bet the house and even some could argue has doubled down on the moodiness, dark drenches of scope and has seriously upped the ante of broodiness and sadly, given us an empty vat filled with a convoluted narrative.
The other thing that is truly troubling for this fan of both characters, is that it appears that Snyder does not like, or even is a mere appreciator of the character of Superman. And to make matters worse for a film that features Batman and Superman, Snyder doesn’t seem to understand what makes the Gotham vigilante tick either.
First, when it comes to Superman, there is no joy present in any of Snyder’s many minutes of film since he unveiled Man of Steel… straight through the closing credits of the follow-up. Now, this writer enjoyed Man of Steel. This overstuffed behemoth of a disheveled mess of a movie manages to take what minute joy was found in Man of Steel and pulled the shades down, dimmed the lights and made Superman a blood relative of Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, albeit without any of the heart, integrity, powerful plot or central hero that one can pull for.
The first half of the film feels as if it was just thrown together. There is no continuity, just a series of random scenes blending into one another that gives us Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane in Africa, Superman, Lex Luthor, Batman and then the lady we know will turn into Wonder Woman. It’s all over the place. Who edited this thing? At one moment, Laurence Fishburne’s Perry White states, “Where is Kent? Did he click his heels and head off to Kansas?” The next scene, you guess would Superman in his native Kansas talking to his mother. Wrong! That scene does come, but it’s legions of moments later. It’s mind-numbingly strange how this film was put together and it makes absolutely no sense and there is no excuse for it at this level of filmmaking.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is gorgeous to look it. Its tones, albeit dark, are vibrant in their dismal nature. Gotham is not a pretty place, historically, and frankly neither is Metropolis after what happened in Man of Steel. OK, we get it. And the scenes that were shot on IMAX cameras and seen in IMAX, are sensational to look at. But, if we solely wanted lush photography, we’d check out National Geographic.
Cavill is a good actor, we have always felt that. Perhaps Snyder was spending too much time on the look of his film to direct his thespians, but Cavill seems to have taken the Man of Steel moniker too close to heart. Stiff is an understatement. He paints a picture of his character as one who is grappling with being misunderstood on this planet that he is so trying to help. There is little heart here. It may just be that there is nothing to pump anything full of life that is injected into Cavill’s, or several other of the characters from the David S. Goyer (and team) script.
Jesse Eisenberg takes what he was crafted for the villain Luthor and gives us an over-the-top/crazed turn as Superman’s most notorious villain. The Social Network star is in his element, but sadly, Snyder again has failed us and his performer by presenting a framework to this villain that seems cartoonish in a film that is anything but.
Then, there’s Affleck. He makes a formidable Batman and a pretty darn good Bruce Wayne. He and Gadot save the movie from being almost unwatchable. The Boston-bred performer has certainly come a long way in the acting department and that fact is shown off in every frame of film he inhabits in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. We truly look forward to that Batman solo-movie that appears to be in the works with the star set to direct himself. He gets Batman, much in the way that Christian Bale did, but Affleck tweaks it for this world that Snyder has created and incredibly — given all the script’s drawbacks — he makes it work.
Gadot’s Wonder Woman is hinted at throughout the film and the audience is left to wonder when she gets to let her Amazonian freak flag fly. When she does, it elicited the only cheers from the audience we heard in the two-and-a-half-hour movie. Yes… you read that running time correctly. Not that long movies are a bad thing, but 150 minutes of dark and dreary visual eye candy with thumping fight sequences that fail to pack any kind of punch, is a little hard to stomach.
That brings us to the title. Snyder and his team have set us up for the ultimate battle between the God (or alien to be specific in this case) and the human (or Bat to be more on point). There is a build-up that takes hours and by the time they go mano-a-mano, honestly, the hate is palpable, albeit unbelievable. How they bridge their battle ready natures and get ready to fighting together in this preview to a Justice League movie that we know is coming, is mind-numbingly ridiculous, trite and frivolous.
Visually, the film’s worth a view. As a comic book movie fan, it is not. For Affleck’s turn as Batman, it compels. For this gladiator battle between two mighty heroes, the film fails. Being able to finally witness the arrival of Wonder Woman on the big screen, it is a tease that pays off. But, due to the lack of storytelling congruence in the entirety of the whole film… we sadly say the entire affair is a waste of time and talent.
When it comes to the answer of the biggest question in this — who will win, Batman or Superman?, that is the wrong question. The better question is: Should you see it on the big screen (IMAX) with that increased ticket price, or wait until it’s on home vid or cable?
The answer is up to you, given what we’ve told you in our review above. But, we think this war between two comic icons has produced one loser — the on-paper bright future of the DC cinematic universe.
Grade: D+